


House Guest

by Ms_Julius



Category: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Michael Scott
Genre: F/M, SFW tho, Showers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 18:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13393794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ms_Julius/pseuds/Ms_Julius
Summary: Dee’s decision of allowing Virginia to stay with him during their time in San Francisco was supposed to be a short-time arrangement. Yet it’s starting to feel far more... startling than the good doctor had initially thought.





	House Guest

**Author's Note:**

> For @sinfcat123 from Tumblr, I am so sorry this took so long!  
> Hope you're happy with what I've done *grin*

The weather in the park was far from an ideal. A pack of dark clouds had managed to climb their way on top of the tall, olden trees, and despite the slim shelter the leaves and branches provided, Virginia was soaked through by the time she slipped into the lobby of Enoch Enterprises. Grimacing to herself, the young woman twisted her watery ponytail in her hands, the drops of icy water sinking within her already dark-colored dress.

There was nothing she could have done. When Virginia had left the building just mere hour ago, the sky had been clear and lacked any sort of indication of what’s to come. Had she known what kind of storm was nearing, she’d have stayed inside, paying attention to some of the doctor’s impressive book shelves, possibly even pilfering a glass of that fine port wine she had seen Dee indulge every so often.

But no, she had decided to go for a walk. The habit had stayed with her for decades now, the need to feel the gust of wind across her skin, to hear birds singing on top of fragrant pine trees. She had always enjoyed being outdoors, ever since she was a small child in America. The scent of the wilderness and nature calmed her in a way no other method could, and thus she had been delighted when Dee had taken her to his company’s building complex, right next to a spacious park where trees were allowed to grow without too much humans cutting in. But even her was ready to admit that current weather did overwrite any desire she had for a wildlife adventures.

As Virginia made her way to the modern, silent elevators located in far corner of a hallway, she took a glance at her wrist clock. Only 1:15 pm, surprisingly. She could have sworn that her stroll had taken much longer. At this rate, she’d still have more than enough time to sneak into good doctor’s private wine storage and pick out a fine candidate with which she could drown her sorrow caused by this dreadful rain.

The elevator ride to the doctor’s floor went by in a flash, and the tall woman stepped out from the car directly into the large, yet so boringly decorated living room. As she had pointed out in multiple occasions, Dee’s taste for furniture could be compared to that of a young, first-time-on-my-own teenager; large TV:s, four of them in fact, serving no other purpose but display the money wasted in them, a set of leather couches, just as cold and unpleasant to sit on as they looked, and the table tops and counters made of the hardest, most sterile materials one could possibly imagine.

This room was not designed to make you feel like home, or at ease. It was meant to impress, without giving anything away from its owner or his desires. There were no personal items presented on the shelves, no pictures of family or friends, no old mementos from years past. Virginia knew this already. She had searched many times before.

Dee was sitting next to one of the large one-way windows, his head barely visible over the newspaper. Despite not having lifted his gaze from the lines, the shallow wave of a hand informed Virginia that her presence was noticed. Huffing to herself, she walked over to lean against the armchair, her elegant fingers coming to rest on the cold leather.

“I told you it’d start raining within couple of hours.” Doctor’s voice came out calmly, but underneath it lurked a familiar, smug tilt of a satisfaction. “And yet you chose to ignore me.”

Virginia let part of her weight to settle on the furniture, a scowl forming on her face. “You _guessed_ that there _might_ be a rain coming.”

“And I guessed right.”

She sighed. Truth to be told, Dee had mentioned about the possibility of storm forming around San Francisco, but she was not going to let the arrogant man know she regretted for not listening to him.

Pushing herself away from the chair, she turned on her heels and began to walk towards the closed door in a far left corner of the sizeable room.

“I can sense your conceit all the way from here, John. Do come back to earth before you get too many of those megalomaniac ideas of yours, and make sure there is a bottle of red wine by the time I’m done with my shower.”

The paper fell down at the final sentence. “Shower? You are going to -”

A bubbling laughter, bearing a sinister undertone, rang through the apartment. “Oh John, why ever would I not? I just came from a pouring rain, the least you could do is allow me to use your bathroom if I so please.” Her sharp, grey eyes snapped to his own paler ones, the gaze cold as ice. “You wouldn’t deny me this, would you, John?”

The small man swallowed hard, lowering his eyes while nodding silently. “Of course not, my dear. Be my guest.” He was no going to drag on the argument, not when Virginia had clearly made up her mind and was not asking for his approval in the first place. And realistically, he had no reason to forbid her the chance to refresh if she wanted to. He was, after all, a wealthy man with his own company. A little peak in his water bill wouldn’t make a visible hole in his budget. “Take your time.”

The woman didn’t bother to answer, just continued her marching to the bathroom. On her way, she slipped out from her leather boots, kicking them aside near the shoe rack, yet missing it. Without slowing down, she bent forward to pull off the purple silk socks she was wearing, her balance never failing as she threw them away too, this time towards the doctor’s chair. Her ankles bare, she reached up to undo the messy ponytail which was starting to come apart by itself.

Behind her, she could hear a muffled gasp.

Startled, she spun around and was met by a sight of Dee’s face gone pale, the newspaper lying on his lap, forgotten. His wide eyes were locked on her feet, his Adam’s apple popping up and down in time with his breathing.

“Dee? Is there something wrong?” Virginia frowned. The doctor, who normally was a picture of perfection and self-control, had a look of a nervous teenager on him.

The typically even and calm voice was now trembling a bit, and Dee seemed to have difficulties getting the words out.

“Could you... uh, not do that in here, please? I mean”, he continued, still looking uncomfortable, his hands twisting together over the paper, “couldn’t you wait until you get inside of the shower room?”

Staring at the diminutive man before her, Virginia glanced down at her own attire, her gaze searching for an open button, a slip of a fabric. Nothing.

She lifted her head, shrugging her shoulders as she went. “Whatever do you mean, doctor? I am fully clothed, aren’t I?”

Dee hurried forth, nodding in union, but failing to will down the rising blush that was beginning to creep up on his neck. “Yes, well, one could beg to disagree...”

At that moment, Virginia realized to follow the man’s gaze. After a moment of confusion, she turned her own eyes downwards, now staring at her feet with Dee.

It hit her.

“My _ankles_ , John! Really?” She tossed her hands in the air, causing her black, humid hair puff up as well. “Are you seriously bothered by my bare ankles? You, a man of science and reason, are still startled by a display of female feet?”

The final remark dropped the flush from Dee’s face, his eyes firing up as he sat up straighter in a faint attempt to save what was left of his dignity. “Times were different! I didn’t have to worry myself with a possibility of seeing such an act within my presence, and women of the time had more sense to cover themselves properly while being out in open!”

A loud laughter, which made the resting birds by the window fly off, came out of Virginia’s lips as she took a hold of the doorknob, her shoulders shaking as she tried to stifle her amusement in vain.

“Good doctor, it’s 21th century for heaven’s sake! Women are far past the point of concealing their hips or chests, much less their feet! You really don’t know how to handle a modern woman, do you, Johnny?” Her toothy grin took a year or two off Dee’s immortal lifespan, sucking out any further objections he might have had in store for the conversation. He sank back to the leather pillows of the chair, for once in his life unable to come up with a reply.

The nod of victory aggravated him, the flute player offering him a condescending smirk before letting herself in the bathroom where she had been heading for quite a while now. Attempting to compose his hurling train of thoughts, Dee picked up the magazine that had fallen from his fingers earlier, making an effort to focus his attention back to the financial news spread across the pages. He was just starting to get to his gears when a whiz of steaming air flew out from the open doorway, a slender figure emerging from the fog. The image in front of him could have been taken from an ancient painting of master Caspar Friedrich, the steam dancing around the human form like a playful shadow, the moistness of the air dampening Dee’s formal dress shirt through out.

The illusion was shattered to pieces as Virginia’s distinguishable accent resonated through the watery vapor.

“Where do you keep your shavers, John? l looked from the mirror cabinet but that was packed full of your bottles of who-knows-what. By the way, is your hairline receding? Because that mixture you have bought doesn’t help, I could recommend some other brands if you-”

As Virginia came into Dee’s point of view, the man jumped out of his seat, threw the rolled newspaper at the naked woman, his voice fainting as he dashed to the other room, the angry words still coming out clearly enough for her to hear.

“That’s it, I am moving you to a hotel! And haven’t I told you to _keep your hands off from my possessions!_ ”

The American grinned, spinning the sharp razor in her hand, resting her weight against the door frame of the shower room.

“My my, such sensitive people these English folks.”


End file.
